Stuntman and daredevil Robbie Knievel has died aged 60
Robbie Knievel, the son of legendary stuntman and daredevil Evel Knievel, has died at the age of 60 following a battle with pancreatic cancer. It has been reported that Knievel passed away under palliative hospice care in Reno, Nevada, surrounded by his family.
Robbie followed his father’s career path as a stuntman and all-around daredevil. His main area of expertise was motorbike jumping. Like his father, his signature stunt was jumping from a ramp over a row of trucks and other large objects. Over his career, he completed over 350 jumps and set 20 world records.
Knievel took on his first bike jump at the age of four and began performing with his father at eight. Evel became the world’s most prominent daredevil during the peak of his fame in the 1970s and found a more than capable performing partner and protege in his youngest son.
Evel ultimately retired in 1981. In 1989 Robbie would go on to successfully jump the fountain at Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas, an impressive stunt his father had attempted but sadly failed in 1967. Evel Knievel passed away in 2007, aged 69; he had been in poor health for several years, suffering from diabetes and pulmonary fibrosis.
Robbie’s other notable jumps include a 228 feet Grand Canyon Jump, a 231 feet 30 Limousine Jump, and the USS Intrepid jump, in which he jumped on his motorbike over five military aeroplanes on the deck of the USS Intrepid aircraft carrier at the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum.
In his career in film and television, Knievel most memorably starred in A&E’s Knievel’s Wild Ride in 2005. The programme offered behind-the-scenes footage of Knievel and his crew as they prepared his various jumps and stunts.
In a statement to Associated Press, Robbie’s older brother Kelly Knievel said his brother “was a great daredevil” and that many people don’t “really understand how scary it is. Daredevils don’t live easy lives.”
Robbie Knievel is survived by Kelly, two sisters, his daughters Krysten and Karmen and grandchildren Analise and Kane. Watch some of his highlights below.
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